Calstock and Cothele

Last week we drove to Cothele Quay and walked to Calstock.  There were lots of spring flowers in the woods, with the bluebells just coming out.

The views to the viaduct and over the river are always beautiful and today we were fortunate to see a train going over the bridge.

Usually when we walk to Calstock we then turn around and walk back, but today we decided to walk along the river following the Tamar Valley Discovery Trail.  When we had to come away from the river we took a wrong turn and walked along the road, quickly coming back to the village.  We should have gone up the hill further before turning down to the village.  It nevertheless was a pretty walk and we were rewarded with a lovely icecream after our lunch sat overlooking the river and viaduct.

We then climbed up the hill to Cothele itself.  The gardens were looking spectacular with lots of daffodils still out as well as other spring flowers.

St Austell to Wheal Martyn

We did this walk on 22 March, but I have not recorded it on this blog until now.

We caught the train to St Austell then followed the signs to the Clay Trails, which took us down a steep hill and up the other side on pavements.  But soon we were on the cycle path that is the Clay Trail.  Being a cycle path there was a firm surface to walk on and it only climbed up slowly, however it was not a particularly pretty path.  However the last half a mile we were walking beside the White river and then a lake, which made it more interesting.  The water really was white from the china clay that is mined in this area.

 There were still some snowdrops out as well as primroses and daffodils.

The walk was 2 miles to Wheal Martyn where we stopped to eat our picnic then a warm up and cup of tea and cake in the museum cafe.  We thought the museum admission charge not worth pay so just returned back to St Austell.

Nun's Cross and Devonport Leat

We so enjoyed our walk from Princetown last week we decided to return to the same area on Thrusday 31 March to explore the area further.  This time we drove down the road towards Whiteworks and parked the car above Peat Cot Farm and walked back to the bridle path.  This time we then turned left to walk towards Nun's Cross.  The views were spectacular, we could see Burrator Reservoir in the valley below and Plymouth Sound in the distance.

When we reached Nun's Cross we walked on down to Nun's Cross Farm to look for Devonport Leat, but we could not find it.  So we made our way towards Peat Cot in the direction we thought the Leat would be taking.  Eventually we came to it, but the wall with the path was on the other side and we could not get across the leat.  We followed the leat along but it was very wet and eventually we walked uphill to the road.  We noted that the road crossed the leat, so we assumed we would be able to cross the leat at this point, which we did.   We then walked along the leat until we came to below Nun's Farm where it went into a tunnel.

We then walked back to the car the way we had come.  On the way we came to ponies grazing at the side of the path.

Princetown

On March 25th the sun was shining.  We had avoided walking on Dartmoor during the winter so thought it was time we visited this area.  We parked in a lay-by just outside Princetown and walked down the bridle path towards South Hessary Tor and then continued on the path until the junction which we came to when we walked from Princetown in September 2011.  It was a good path so ideal after the wet winter weather we had had recently.  The views were beautiful.  It was a much better walk than down the road which is the way we went last time.

We cut across the path that led to the road and crossed the road and walked to Peat Cot Cottage and farm.  This was a muddier path, but we could avoid the puddles.  When we arrived at Peat Cot Cottage there was a sign to a footpath that led back to Princetown.  We started to follow this but it was very wet.  We continued on through one field and turned left at the end to make our way uphill.  There was a bridge over a stream but to get to it we had to go across stepping stones.  They were too far apart for our liking and so we decided at this point to turn back.

When we cross the field we were walking parallel to the Devonport Leat.  Another couple was walking along the 'wall' of this and their path was completely dry so on the way back we climbed up to this wall and it was much easier coming back.

We then retraced our path back to Princetown for an icecream.

Camel Trail in Winter

We have now been living in Plymouth for nearly 5 years.  These days when we go out we often re-visit places we have been before.  But there are still beautiful new areas to discover.

It has been a very wet winter and most footpaths are muddy, so I wanted to find a walk that would not be slippery.  In the past we have cycled the Camel Trail from Wadebridge to Padstow, which is the most common part of this cycle path. But it does extend much further (over 17 miles in total), so we thought we would explore another part of it.  Looking on the website I found out that there was a free car park at Dunmere, just outside Bodmin, so we headed to there to join the Camel Trail and started to walk towards Wadebridge.  This is a distance of 5 miles, too far for us today as we would have had to walk back and rain was threatening, but we continued walking to Grogley Halt, which took us about 40 minutes.

It was an excellent walk for winter, with a firm path, and not muddy except at the edges.  There were not many cyclists on the route and the path was wide enough for them to pass us without us having to go to the muddy sides. It is completely flat which makes it a very easy walk.

At the side of the path and beside the river Camel there were snowdrops.

After we had returned to the car and eaten our lunch - Cornish Pasties, of course, we returned to the Camel Trail and walked in the opposite direction.  We soon came to a junction, one path went to Bodmin and the other to Pooley Bridge.  We took the latter and the path was narrower and muddy in places. We continued until we came to a salmon leap.  With a lot of water coming down the river it looked impressive, particularly as there was a heron on the side looking for his lunch.

Before lunch we had seen a number of clumps of daffodils in bud, but none out.  On this path we did find a couple of daffodils in flower.

I am sure this is an area we will return to.  The Camel trail from Bodmin to Padstow is ideal for a winter walk, and we will do the other part in the summer when it is drier.

Bluebells Galore

I love the sight of a blue carpet of bluebells, so knowing they were in season we set out to find where the best display was this year.

First stop was Saltram, our nearest National Trust property.  In the gardens around the House wild garlic and white bells were more prolific, although there were some bluebells that contrasted the white of the other flowers.

In the grounds between the House and Stag Lodge there were more bluebells.  Again there were white patches of wild garlic.











A few days later we travelled to Lanhydrock House, another National Trust property, renowned for the bluebells in the woods in the Estate.  There were plenty of bluebells to be seen, but the best displays were in woodland either side of the the Reception area.  It is great that this can be seen by anyone visiting this National Trust property, without them having to walk far.

Buckland Abbey was the next place we visited.  Previous years there have been wonderful displays along the walks around the estate.  We were somewhat disappointed as the bluebells were not so prolific this year and so did not give the same sense of a carpet.  However there was one patch that was good - just before you cross fields towards the end of the Red Walk.

As we had a whole day free from Buckland Abbey we drove onto Burrator Reservoir.  We had never been there during bluebell flowering time, but last year I noticed lots of bluebell plants and thought there might be a good display.  We were not disappointed, the bluebells were spectacular and it was lovely walking by the blue waters of the reservoir with a carpet of blue on the other side of the path.
At times the bluebells were right by the waters edge.

We walked along by the reservoir but on the way back came back along the road.  Even on this easy walk you could see bluebells but they were not as spectacular as those inside the woodland.

Photo taken from the road around Burrator

Yelverton to Tavistock

We have been so busy this summer looking after our grandchildren and the Christians Against Poverty ministry that we have not been out walking except when on holiday.  (See my holiday blog for details of our holiday)  today,   When we have had a few hours free we have visited gardens, which I have posted photos of in Tumblr. or short favourite walks in or near Plymouth, such as around Saltram, Wembury or Mount Batten.

Today, however we had a whole day free so decided to walk from Yelverton to Tavistock.  We caught the bus to Yelverton then followed the Cycle Network Route 27 all the way to Tavistock.  It was a very easy walk of about 5 miles.  It was flat or downhill most of the way, with only one slight incline.  The path was tarmaced all the way and most of the way it was in countryside away from roads.  There were lots of wonderful views over Dartmoor and the Walkham valley.

After an hour we walked across the spectacular Gem Bridge and just a bit further on we came to the Grenofen Tunnel.  As we approached this we felt the temperature drop.  You could see the light at the end of the tunnel but it was very dark in the middle of the tunnel, with water dripping down from the ceiling.

It took us about 1.5 hour  to reach the edge of Tavistock.  We walked into the town to buy our lunch and then ate it by the River Tavy.

We then walked back the way we had come along the canal, but instead of keeping to the cycle path we stayed on the canal path and walked to Crowndale Farm, the birthplace of Sir Francis Drake and then on to Shillamill Viaduct.